Lopez Pro Mid – Guest Review

Louie Lopez came into the scene as a young buck sponsored by Flip skateboards at the age of 12. At the time, he had super long hair and was jumping down huge stair sets. For a long time, whenever I thought of Louie Lopez that was the “Louie” I thought of – small, long hair, jumping down stair sets twice or three times his size. Louie’s appearance has changed a lot though since then. He still looks the same, but he’s physically larger and his hair is much shorter. Not only that, his progression on a skateboard has been exciting to witness from his Converse, Fucking Awesome and Volcom video parts. His winning run at Tampa Pro in 2017 woke everybody up to the fact that Louie was (1) grown up and (2) still amazing, if not better, on a skateboard. 

Last year, Converse Cons released a Louie Lopez pro model shoe. The shoe was somewhat basic – low-top, suede, narrow – but basic shoes, in my opinion, are the best shoes to skate in. Last month, Cons reissued this shoe but in a mid-top. I’d skated a pair of the low-top Louie’s and had liked them, so when I got a pair of the mid-tops I was excited to experience the additional ‘ankle support’. The mid-top Louie retains the look and feel of the low-tops, but the fit is much tighter than the low-tops. The tight fit caused my right foot some serious discomfort, and this was probably because my right foot is a little larger than my left one. Asides from the gnarly blisters I got from skating these shoes, I did have a few good sessions in them. The shoes weren’t too grippy, so it was easy to flip the board right from the start which was nice. For anybody looking to cop a pair of these, I’d recommend them but would suggest you go half a size or a full size up from what you normally wearing order to avoid discomfort. 

Durability

The upside to suede is that it’s quite durable. I didn’t notice any tears or breaks in these shoes while skating them. They also maintained their shape quite well. I noticed that in the back of these shoes, along the heel area, there’s a piece of plastic that’s been implanted into the wall of the shoe. I imagine this piece of plastic is there to help the shoe maintain its shape. I commend Cons for putting this piece of plastic into the shoe since it’ll certainly help it stay rigid. I do think that if that piece of plastic hadn’t been there, then my right foot wouldn’t have suffered as much since the back of the shoe would have been a bit more flexible and wouldn’t have rubbed up so hard against the skin.

Cushioning

Cushioning felt good on these. I wouldn’t hesitate to jump down some stairs in these. The mid-top cut gives the ankle a bit more support and protection which is nice. 

Shape

The shoe has a narrow, pointy shape. I generally like narrow, pointy shoes because I find that it’s easier to flip the board in shoes with that kind of shape. 

Boardfeel&Grip

The boardfeel is good on these. The Louie Lopez Pro Mid features a CX foam sockliner which finds a really good balance between cushioning and boardfeel. The sole didn’t feel too thick nor too thin. From the moment I first skated in them, I had no trouble feeling my board. These shoes are made out of suede and I find that suede, in general, is quite grippy. With these shoes, I was able to comfortably kickflip right from the get-to which was a welcome relief since my last pair of shoes had a rubber toe cap. 

Comfort

The downside of the narrow shape is that it fits really tight – maybe too tight – on the foot. My right foot is a little bit bigger than my left foot, and so the right shoe was really uncomfortable to wear and skate in(surprisingly, my left foot did not suffer at all). The right shoe was so tight on my foot that I ended up with two gnarly blisters on the back of my heel, a blister on my pinky toe, and gnarly pain/skin abrasion on my big toe. I guess the lesson here is that if you do decide to buy a pair of mid-top Cons, then go half a size or a size bigger because otherwise you might also end up squeezing puss out of your big toe.